Estonian War of Independence

The Estonian War of Independence (28 November 1918-2 February 1920) was a war fought between the nationalist government of Estonia and its allies of White Russia, Latvia, and the United Kingdom against the Russian SFSR.

On 24 February 1918, the Estonian National Council declared independence from Russia, forming the Estonian Provisional Government. The following day, German forces entered Tallinn and occupied the city, claiming that the national government was usurping the sovereign rights of the aristocratic Baltic Germans. After the end of World War I that November, however, the Germans withdrew and recognized the new Estonian government. On 16 November 1918, the provisional government called for voluntary mobilization.

In late November 1918, Soviet forces moved against Estonia, hoping to depose the German puppet regime and install a socialist republic in power. On 28 November 1918, the Soviets attacked Narva, starting the war. The Reds captured Narva from the Imperial German Army the next day, and they established the Commune of the Working People of Estonia as a puppet state. By the end of the year, the Red Army controlled Estonia up to 21 miles from the nation's capital of Tallinn. On 5 December 1918, Finland delivered 5,000 rifles and 20 field guns, along with ammunition, to the Estonian forces, and a British Royal Navy squadron arrived at Tallinn on 31 December. The squadron captured two Soviet Navy destroyers, and 2,000 Finnish volunteers would arrive in Estonia to assist in the fight against the Reds.

By the beginning of 1919, the Estonian army had grown to 13,000 troops, with 5,700 on the front facing 8,000 Soviets. In January 1919, the Estonians launched a counterattack against the Reds, and Narva was liberated on 18 January. The nationalist forces succeeded in routing the Reds from Estonia, and the Estonian ranks had swelled to 19,000 troops, 70 field guns, and 230 machine guns by 24 February 1919. In the second half of February, the 80,000-strong Soviet "Estonian Red Riflemen" launched an offensive to recapture Estonia, but the Estonians and White Russians repelled the Red attacks. The Red Army failed to capture Narva despite heavily bombarding the city, but it made progress in the southern parishes in March 1919.

On 13 May 1919, the Estonians launched a counterattack against the Reds near Narva, surprising and destroying the Soviet 6th Division. British and Estonian ships and marines supported the assault on Narva. On 24 May, the 600-strong Estonian 1st Rifle Division defected from the Reds to the nationalists, and the ensuing Estonian offensive destroyed the Estonian Red Army and led to the capture of Pskov on 25 May 1919. The Estonians also launched an offensive southward into northern Latvia, capturing Aluksne and Valmiera by the end of May.

In June 1919, the German-Estonian alliance broke down after Rudiger von der Goltz's Baltische Landeswehr paramilitary deposed the Latvian government, replaced it with a puppet one, and demanded that the Estonians withdraw from northern Latvia. The Germans intended to create puppet governments in the Baltics, and the Estonians refused to withdraw, leading to war between the two former allies. The month of June saw the Freikorps occupy the town of Cesis, but the Estonians succeeded in counterattacking and driving the Germans from the town. By 3 July 1919, the Estonians had advanced to the outskirts of Riga in Latvia, and a ceasefire was brokered between the Germans and Estonians. The German forces were ordered to leave Latvia, the Baltische Landeswehr was put under the command of the Latvian nationalist government, and the troops of the disbanded German VI Reserve Corps, instead of leaving, joined the West Russian Volunteer Army under Pavel Bermondt-Avalov.

In the autumn of 1919, the White Russian Northwestern Army, commanded by Nikolai Yudenich, launched an offensive against the Soviet capital of Petrograd (Saint Petersburg). The Entente powers and Estonia supported the attack, but the Red Army repulsed the Whites back to the Narva River. Distrustful of the White Russians, the Estonian military disarmed and interned the remains of the Northwestern Army that retreated behind the state border. In October 1919, the West Russian Volunteer Army restarted the German-Estonian conflict when it launched an attack against Riga. The Estonians sent two armored trains to help repel the German attack, and Estonian troops remained in Latvia to continue the fight against the Bolsheviks. From 18 November to 30 December 1919, the Soviets attacked the border region near Narva, fighting against the Estonians in the Krivasoo swamp. The battle ended in an Estonian victory, with 40,000 Estonians fighting off 120,000 Soviets. On 3 January 1920, Soviet Russia and Estonia concluded a ceasefire, and Estonia became an independent republic.